On a conventional tire inspection line, tires brought on a conveyor or like equipment may be stopped at a midway point where information may be read from the barcode affixed to the tires. This is done to identify the type and size of the tires being inspected and sort them into the tires to be sent to the next process and elsewhere.
In one method for reading the barcode, for instance, the centering of a tire is first performed by a centering unit that grips the tire from inside with three chuck rollers. Then, with the tire gripped by this centering unit, the tire is rotated and the barcode affixed to the sidewall of the tire is read by a barcode reader installed above the tire (see Patent Document 1, for example). In another method for reading the barcode, a detection sensor for detecting the marking area of a two-dimensional code identifier and a code reader are installed underneath a roller conveyor carrying tires. The code reader is moved to the marking area of the two-dimensional code identifier detected by the detection sensor and tilted there in such a manner as to allow the reading of the two-dimensional code information through the gap between the rollers (see Patent Document 2, for example).